Article 57 of the Saudi Law of the Judiciary

المادة 57 من نظام القضاء

The article requires notifying the judge of his efficiency report and what is filed in his file, lets him object within thirty days, and has the Supreme Judicial Council decide with a final decision.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

1- تبلغ إدارة التفتيش القضائي القاضي بالتقرير وتقدير كفايته، كما تبلغه بكل ما يودع في ملفه. وله أن يقدم لإدارة التفتيش اعتراضه على ذلك خلال (ثلاثين) يومًا من تاريخ تبليغه، ما لم يوجد عذر مقبول.

2- تحيل إدارة التفتيش القضائي الاعتراض إلى المجلس الأعلى للقضاء مشفوعًا بمذكرة بالرأي فيه خلال (خمسة عشر) يومًا من تاريخ تقديمه.

ويفصل المجلس في الاعتراض بعد الاطلاع على الأوراق، ويبلًغ المعترض بقرار المجلس كتابة. ويكون قرار المجلس في هذا الشأن نهائيًّا.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 57 explained in plain English

This article regulates the judge's right to know his efficiency report and to object to it, and sets out the steps and deadlines for objection:

Notification: the judicial inspection department notifies the judge of the report and his efficiency rating, and also of everything filed in his file.
Objection: the judge may submit his objection to the inspection department within thirty days from the date of his notification, unless there is an acceptable excuse.
Referral: the inspection department refers the objection to the Supreme Judicial Council together with a memorandum of opinion on it within fifteen days from the date it was submitted.
Decision: the Council decides on the objection after reviewing the papers, and the objector is notified of the Council's decision in writing.
Finality of the decision: the Council's decision on this matter is final.

Note that the thirty-day period starts from the date of notification, not from the date the report was prepared, and that the text makes an exception for an acceptable excuse without specifying its forms. The objection is also submitted to the inspection department itself, which then refers it to the Council.

The objection may be to the rating or to what is filed in the file, since the text gives the judge the right to object "to that" after mentioning both together. The ratings that may be objected to are the grades set by Article 56: distinguished, above average, average, below average.

This article differs from Article 58, which regulates the notice given to the judge by the president of the court: it makes the period for objecting to the written notice fifteen days from the date of notification, and the objection is submitted to the Council in writing.

Practical example

A judge at a court in Taif received notification from the judicial inspection department that his efficiency rating is "average", and he felt the rating was not fair to him. Under Article 57, he may submit his objection to the inspection department within thirty days from the date of his notification. The department refers it within fifteen days to the Supreme Judicial Council with a memorandum of its opinion, and the Council decides on it with a final decision of which he is notified in writing.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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